


Out Back

by staranon



Category: Funhaus (Video Blogging RPF), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Werewolves, it's such a slow burn you guys, ya'll get your shipping glasses out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-07-25 21:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16205822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staranon/pseuds/staranon
Summary: Peake's a werewolf and he's learned how to manage his time around the full moon so he could shift safely.It gets more complicated when those closest to him figure it out and want to help him out.





	1. that one time in the park

**Author's Note:**

> i joined a shiphaus discord server and someone said werewolf matt peake and whoops my finger slipped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt meets Adam.

Adam was the first to know. They’ve been friends since college, and he picked up on the pattern quite quickly. After each full moon, the next day Matt would arrive looking haggard, sporting scratches in various places, and after questioning him and looking into who he’d spend time with, nothing was out of the ordinary until he looked at his calendar.

And then it clicked.

He asked him when they were in Matt’s dorm, his roommate gone for the night. Adam had no sense of tact and had simply asked, “Are you a werewolf?”

Matt was silent, face turned away from Adam. “Would you still be here if I was?”

Adam stood up from where he sat on the ground, textbooks hardly touched. He touched Matt’s shoulder to get him to look at him. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

He was so relieved then to hear that Adam was willing to help, willing to be his support for him on the day and the night of the full moon.

“It was easier when I was still living at home,” he said. “Had a lot more space to run around on those nights. Not much space in this city, and it’s hard to get out on those nights when, you know, school and all that.”

Adam nodded, tried to think of ways he could help Matt in the future, where he could bring him during the night and make it a bit easier for him to transform.

It went well for the first two months that Adam knew of his secret. He’d drive himself and Matt out of the city, find a motel off the beaten path, rent a room for the night, and have Matt run around in the open fields surrounding them. It worked. He’d return in the morning, absolutely ravenous and in desperate need of a shower. And then they’d go home. The people at the front desk probably thought they were fucking, but they didn’t have anything else they could work with.

The third month and it was mid-term hell. They hardly saw each other in those days, and on the night that Adam was supposed to be there for him, he was working and missed the call and the texts on his cellphone. When he left to go home at eleven that night, he flipped open his phone to see the texts and with a sinking feeling realized what he’d forgotten.

Matt wasn’t in his dorm. He wasn’t outside Adam’s apartment building. He was nowhere to be found and the moon hung high in the sky, a bright white light that only made him worry.

He kicked into gear. Gathered together some extra clothes, a flashlight, water, food, and a first aid kit. There was a werewolf loose in the city, and the last thing Matt needed was to be picked up by the pound because someone thought he was a stray dog.

Adam headed towards the quieter parts of town, away from major roads with too much traffic, away from the bar scenes and clubs, away from all the noise and clutter--and into the parks, the suburbs and cozy neighbourhoods. It was getting later and later into the night. Adam feared that if he couldn’t find Matt, he’d be picked up on a public indecency charge and what a nightmare that would be.

He was in the park now, passing by the odd group of students going home from the bar, hoping none of them had stumbled upon a lost dog of some sort. He had never seen Matt in his wolf form before so he wasn’t sure what to look for. Was he an actual wolf or was he like a normal dog? Or was he just--

He heard movement off the path. “Matt?” he said, holding out his flashlight, turning in a slow circle. “Peake, where are you?” More rustling. He stepped off the path and followed it further into the park. The beam of his flashlight caught on two yellow eyes. There stood what Adam assumed to be a rather small wolf. To be honest, he didn’t really know. He knew nothing about wolves in general.

“Hey, I’m sorry about missing your texts. I didn’t, I completely forgot.” He felt foolish saying all this to a wolf, didn’t know if Matt could understand him, but the important thing now was to keep an eye on Matt until he shifted or something and they could go home.

He got down on his knees just a few feet from Matt who hadn’t moved yet, but Adam knew enough about dogs that if their tail was between their legs then they were scared. “Matt? Come here. Let’s . . . let’s go home. It’s better there.” He wasn’t a dog person, didn’t know how to talk to a werewolf, but Matt paced over slowly. His ears were back against his head, but he stretched out his head as Adam held out his hands gently. He bumped his snout into Adam’s palm, and Adam carefully set his hand on top of Matt’s head. He accepted the touch and moved closer towards him.

Soon Adam had a lap full of a scared, whimpering werewolf and had to get him home eventually. “I didn’t bring my car,” he said. “So we’ll just have to--”

Matt yelped out in what sounded like pain. Adam fell back out of instinct and watched as Matt transformed back into the man he knew. He lifted his head, saw Adam, and his eyes rolled back in his head. After sitting in a moment of shock, Adam jumped forward and pulled the clothes out of his pack--a shirt and sweats.

“Okay, okay, I think I got this. I think we can get us home. Okay.”

Matt explained the next day what had happened. “Normally, I wouldn’t turn back until the sun rose. But, uh, there’s other ways to change.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Adam turned to look at Matt, and Matt gave him a meaningful look. “Oh. Yeah, I, uh, think I got it.” He thought he did. But was it more than just being close friends and trusting each other? Or was there more to it? Was Adam even ready to have this conversation?  _Did he like-like his best friend or--_

“If you’re uncomfortable--” Matt said, catching his attention.

Adam quickly shook his head. “I’m not. It’s just . . . I’m not sure if I’ve just been that, like, obtuse.”

“You’re not. I’m still, just, trying to figure things out.”

“S’okay. Take all the time you need.”

Matt nodded. “Thank you for coming out after me like that. I, um, let time get away from me.”

“It’s okay. We’re still here, still together.”

And that’s all that would matter in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this may be a short chapter by my standards, but it's only going to go further from here


	2. that one time at work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Co-workers add complications.

A few years down the road, Matt and Adam had found themselves working for Machinima, working with a few others for Inside Gaming. It was good. They had a good dynamic between all of them. Videos were recorded and edited down. Subscribers were coming in at a steady rate, and it seemed like everything was going well. But sometimes hours were long. It was harder to get out of the office on the day of the full moon when it was crunch time and they were all expected to work longer hours to keep the channel afloat. There were a few close calls when Matt couldn’t get out of the door fast enough, but he’d managed to get his work done and close out for the day in time. But eventually, his luck had to run out. 

In the face of a long night, Matt came to round up the others with Adam’s support to explain a not so hypothetical situation. 

“So, I know we’ve been busy lately and, um, that means a lot of late nights at the office, but, uh, I . . .” Why was it so hard to just blurt out ‘I’m a werewolf’ to your closest friends? It wasn’t so hard with Adam, but now there were five more of them all putting Matt on the spot like this.

“He’s a werewolf,” Adam said, stepping in after seeing Matt struggle. Matt let his breath out evenly, glad that it was out of his hands now. “And it’s hard for him to work on days of the full moon and have to stay behind and finish up because it’s crunch time.”

“And I get that we’ve got a lot riding on this channel and I can work around the hours that I can’t be here because of my . . . condition--”

Bruce held up his hand to stop him. “Matt, it’s okay. We can figure out a way to make the schedule work. It’s just . . . do you need anything from us?”

It was such a relief to have their support. That they were so open and willing to help Matt make his schedule work. And for the most part, it worked. They picked up on the editing slack when Matt had to leave early those days. Joel started bringing him herbal teas to help him feel more like himself the day after. Sean was always willing to help him finish up his edits for the day so he wouldn’t feel rushed. It was working.

Until it wasn’t, which was an inevitability that Matt had come to accept. 

He’d been feeling off all day, and while it wasn’t that late yet, there was an itch under his skin that he knew wasn’t a good sign.

Lawrence had been keeping a close eye on him that day. They usually did, and with the others off in meetings or conducting the stream, it was down to Lawrence to keep an eye on him. And when he saw Matt sway in his seat, he knew something was up.

He set his hand gently on Matt’s shoulder. “Peake? You okay?”

“I, um, I think . . .” He looked feverish. 

“Need to get out of here?”

Matt nodded and let Lawrence escort him to Joel’s empty office. He shut the door, made sure the shades of the windows were shuttered just as Matt fell to the ground on all fours. He made a noise in the back of his throat, clearly stifled as he tried to remain quiet. His fingers dug into the carpet, and just as Lawrence was about to ask if he needed anything, if he needed to pull Adam from the stream, Matt just pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the side.

“Jus’ don’t let anyone in,” he said. “I’m, I’m going to change and I won’t be able to stop it.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, right okay. I can do that.” Lawrence turned away as Matt shed the rest of his clothing and crawled off behind Joel’s desk. He stood at the door, hearing as Matt grunted in pain and hissed.

He’d read up about werewolves and their physiology since Matt had told them, and premature changes weren’t uncommon, just extremely uncomfortable. And with them being at work, this was a bit risky. 

Eventually, Matt stopped making noises, prompting Lawrence to turn around. “Peake? You okay back there?”

Slinking around from the other side of the desk was a light brown wolf with amber eyes. Its ears were pinned back and it shrunk back when Lawrence stepped forward. He stopped when that happened, took in the body language of the wolf--Peake. He was scared. Of course he was. He’d transformed during the work day and was stuck like this until the moon passed, so Lawrence had to step up and keep him calm.

He sat down on the ground and waited for Matt to come around to him. “Hey, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Matt shuffled forward, sniffing at Lawrence curiously. He looked ready to flee, but Lawrence kept talking softly, letting him know that he was okay here until he came forward and curled up against Lawrence’s leg, perching his head on his thigh.

Despite the absurdity of the situation, Matt was calm. And he was kind of adorable like this. Not like some sort of terrifying monster like on TV. Basically just a wolf that was more like a domesticated dog. He wondered how much Matt would actually change when he was in this form. Because at the moment, he was just a quiet dog that nudged up into his hand.

Lawrence looked at the clock on the wall and he knew he had to get back to work. Matt could stay here, though. All he’d have to do was text Joel about the situation and that should be that.

“Okay, buddy, time to get back to work.” He stood up, jostling Matt a little as he reached for the door. Before he could get out, he felt Matt jump up and try to get his attention. He whined, getting Lawrence to look back at him.

“What? What is it?”

Matt only whined. 

“What? You want to go out? People will see then, buddy.” He reached for the door again, causing Matt to whine further and louder, bump up against Lawrence’s leg. He sighed. “Do you not want to be alone? Is that it?” Chancing it, he opened the door and stepped out. Matt followed him, and they went back to Lawrence’s desk.

From there, Matt managed to curl up underneath Lawrence’s desk on top of his feet, mostly hidden from the rest of the office. It was easy to work like this. Kind of normal too. Matt would shift around, sometimes sit up and set his head on Lawrence’s thigh and Lawrence would scratch his head as he read through a few articles. And it was nice.

When the stream ended, Adam came out to see Matt’s desk empty. “Hey, Lawrence. Where’s Peake?”

“Yeah,” Lawrence said. “About that.” 

Adam frowned and came up to them and then he saw what was hiding underneath Lawrence’s desk. “How long has he been like that?” he whispered.

“Not long. He just didn’t want to stay in Joel’s office, so he followed me out here.”

“Right, well, I’m going to finish up and when I come back, I’ll take him home.”

“Take your time,” Lawrence said, and Adam shook his head, shoved at him. 


	3. that one time with Benson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Office pets allowed.

Inside Gaming would come to an end, and their little group (or 'pack' as they would say to tease Matt) would move on to bigger and better things. They found a place with Roosterteeth, founding Funhaus as a way to make the content they wanted and receive the support they always needed. They hopped from one office to the next, losing some and gaining others on the way.

The wolf in Matt took it hard when first Spoole left and then Joel. He grew attached to them and took it hard when they left to pursue their own careers. He was proud of them, yes, but as he lived with Bruce in those days, Bruce would always check in on him, seeing if he was all right.

“Yeah,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

And then Bruce would tell him how the wolf side of him would hide away, absolutely miserable in the few months following their departures. How he’d find Peake behind the couch, under the bed, in his closet, too miserable to do much else, but he bounced back eventually, becoming that puppy once more with every full moon. 

With their own office and their own sense of autonomy, it was common for them to bring their dogs in. Billie when Joel was still around. Now Benson with both Willemses in the office. And then Bender with Omar. 

Since his contraction of the werewolf virus, Matt had begun to attract dogs. They always sensed something odd about him and he’d get one of two reactions. A growl and raised haunches, or a lap full of enthusiastic dog.

It was a trial and error period when the others wanted to bring their dogs by. They had to sniff out Matt a bit before they decided they were comfortable with him. And so far there were no problems.

Elyse came by his desk one day about a week before the full moon. “You know what would be fun?” she asked.

He pulled off his headphones. “No. What?”

“If you and Benson had a little playdate!” She smiled at him widely.

Matt rolled his eyes a little. “Elyse--”

“No! It’ll be perfect! The guys are gone next week anyway, so I thought you’d might like someone to spend it with. You know, since Bruce’ll be gone.”

Oh. Now he got it. 

“I’ll have to think about it. I’ve . . . I’ve never shifted with other dogs around and I don’t want to hurt him.”

She shrugged. “It’s up to you really. I just think it’d be fun for you and Benson to play around a bit.”

“I’ll let you know.”

It was easier to spend full moons alone now that he was older. He had a secure place with Bruce. Adam wasn’t that far away. It was easier to control that other part of him, but being on his own? That was still a bit iffy. What if a neighbour complained about the noise? What if the wolf got too lonely and tore up the house?

Two days before the moon, he approached Elyse at her desk. “We can carpool back to your place?” 

She looked up at him with such a big smile and nodded. “It’s a date!” she said, and Matt found himself blushing. She always knew how to get the best out of him.

* * *

He left with Elyse that day with Benson in the back seat looking from one window to the next. Most of the office was in Austin for that week, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with Elyse and be assured that he’d be okay during the transformation.

“I can show you to the spare room,” she said as she led them all through the door. Benson scampered in before them both, relieved to be back at home.

“Sure,” Matt said. “That’d be great.” 

It had a bed and a side table within it. Just enough for him so he could set his stuff down and get familiar with the layout of the place. They had a good few hours yet before he’d be forced to shift, so Elyse suggested dinner and Hulu, and Matt joined her in the kitchen to help.

It could’ve been like any other night. Dinner. Television. Other than for the growing itch under his skin, Matt would’ve treated it like any other night. But it wasn’t and soon he had to step back and retreat to the spare room. 

“I won’t peek,” Elyse called after him, and all he could do was shake his head. 

She heard the door close down the hall and waited with Benson sat on her legs for Matt to join them again. It was hard and a bit unnerving, at first, to hear Matt’s pained grunts just down the hall. He never spoke of his condition much. How he was bit, what the change was like, if he was aware of anything after he’d changed. He’d never told them, and she often wondered why. Was he still embarrassed about it? Was it difficult for him to talk about it in some way?

She didn’t know. None of them did, but they all just wanted to be there for him. Support him during his more difficult and more vulnerable moments. 

Eventually, the pained grunts shifted into whimpers and scratches at the door. It alerted Benson right away, and Elyse moved away from him to tread down the hall lightly. She hadn’t seen much of Matt’s wolf form. If he had the unfortunate moment to shift at work during the day, then Adam usually stepped in to take him home, Matt feeling most comfortable around Adam to get through the next hours. 

She opened the door and stepped back, waited for Matt to come to her. He came out slowly, sniffing the air, ears twitching in response to all the soft noises of the house. Elyse bent down on her knees. “Hey there,” she said. “Hey, Peake, come here.” She held out her hands, letting him bump his wet nose up against her fingers. He licked at them a bit, perking up as he clearly recognized her. Some part of him anyway. “I’ve got a friend for you to meet. Come on.”

She stood and Matt clipped along on the wood floor after her. Benson was on the floor already, and she stepped away to grab her phone and sit on the couch with her feet on the cushions. The TV was on, but she hardly took notice as she watched Benson and Matt get to know each other in this way. Matt was a bit more forthcoming whereas Benson was a bit hesitant. She pulled up her camera and began to record the first meeting.

Matt hopped a bit on his front paws. He was clearly enthused in meeting someone new, wanting to play, acting like a puppy. Benson had always been a bit more reserved, but he tolerated Matt well enough as he would with any other dog in the office. And it was a very cute first meeting.

She hung off the arm of the couch watching as Benson would wander to his food bowl, his water bowl. Matt didn’t try to steal from him, thankfully, but followed him around everywhere. Tail wagging, ears up, he was totally enthralled by Benson.

Later in the evening, Benson would warm up to Matt and they would tussle a little bit. Matt was always gentle though, clearly aware of the strength he possessed, letting Benson walk all over him before stepping away to see Elyse and check in with her. 

She sent the videos to the boys, letting them know that Benson had made a friend.

‘playdate!!!’

Matt was curious as a wolf, didn’t want to sit still when he had so much to look into. If he were to be gone down the hallway for too long, she would call out to him. “Matt? What are you doing?” And sure enough moments later, ‘clip clip clip clip’, he’d come around the corner looking entirely too innocent. 

“Stay out of trouble, mister.”

He’d listen to her. Always coming back to check in that he was good, that he wasn’t doing anything wrong.

She cleaned up the kitchen for the night. Brought out the dog treats when Benson made a fuss and she just couldn’t resist. Then for kicks she offered one to Matt too. He ate it up quickly and asked for another, pawing at her leg.

“No, no more, Peake. If I give you another, then Benson will want one and I’ll never hear the end of it.” He whined, loudly, but she ignored him. “No, Peake.” He had no choice but to listen to her.

Usually when James was gone, Benson would curl up extra close to her on the bed. This night was no different, but they had a visitor in the house. He nudged his way in through the door and stood patiently at the edge of the bed. “Okay,” she said. “You can come up.”

He jumped up quickly to get in next to Benson, and it was a bit of a surreal moment for her. This was still Matt, still a part of him. And now he was here on her bed with her dog, wanting to cuddle up with the both of them. 

She reached out to sink one of her hands into Matt’s thick fur. He was quite beautiful like this. So much like a pup and yet she knew there was more to him than met the eye. He wasn’t like any other normal dog. There was something special to him. She just hoped that all his transformations would be as gentle as this. He deserved it.

“Just make sure you go back to your room before morning,” she said. “I don’t think either of us would appreciate that type of awakening.” She laughed softly as Matt licked at her hand. 

She slept easily, hardly awake as the dog and wolf in her bed moved about oddly. She woke more fully in the morning when there was a sudden weight distribution on the mattress. Matt slowly slinked out of the room, panting hard as she looked to the clock. Slightly after six. She rolled over and slept. When she woke again more fully, the shower was running and the wolf was no more. 

“Sleep well?” she asked Matt when he joined her in the kitchen fully clothed. 

He hummed. “It was fine.”

When she looked at him, he looked at peace with himself. More rested now than in the past week, like everything had been reset for him.

Benson entered the kitchen, and Matt bent to scratch at his head. “Anything interesting happen last night?” he asked.

“You don’t remember?”

“Only bits and pieces.”

“It was fine,” she said. “Perfectly fine.”


	4. that time in the Bungalow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omar's a dog person, so taking care of a sick werewolf should be no problem, right?

They got used to it. Comfortable at the ease of which Matt would transform. It was never hard for him to change when he had so many people to watch out over him. When they ran long twenty-four hour streams, especially during E3 when there was drinking involved and the Bungalow crew had to make sure the stream was up and running and periodically jump in to fill seats for an hour or two. 

Sometimes the entirety of E3 could take place over the full moon. And when Matt was required to be there for the stream, they’d carve out time for him to go into a back room and shift in privacy and spend time with the office dogs while safely set away in another part of the office. 

But it was this time that Matt began to act a little strange. When Omar came back into the Bungalow, he found Bender standing concerned by the couch looking at Matt who was uncommonly listless. Bender whined, licked at Matt’s snout, and whined again this time more urgent when he saw Omar. 

So Omar came up to the side of the couch and knelt down beside it. Bender wandered around him, clearly stressed that Matt was like this. They’d all accepted Matt’s nature by now, comfortable with him shifting at the office if they had no choice, but this was out of the ordinary. Matt was never despondent like this. He was usually pretty active, traipsing all over the office to check out every nook and cranny he could. But this made Omar think he was a bit sick if anything.

“You feeling okay?” He set both hands on Matt’s head, checked all the usual places like he would with Bender if he was under the weather. The eyes, the ears, the gums. His nose wasn’t dry, but he was definitely not feeling like his usual self.

When he was a wolf, Omar could treat Matt differently. Matt normally was quiet, reserved, held himself back just a bit. But when he was a wolf, it was like a switch had flipped. He was energetic, he was friendly, he sought out fun and attention, so it was easy to separate the man from the wolf and treat the wolf differently. So Omar continued on, felt down his neck, his stomach, each leg. He tried to find any sore spots that could be causing Matt harm, but there was nothing. He was fine, just listless.

Omar moved, sat down on the couch, and rested his hand on Matt’s neck. Matt sighed, nudged up into his touch. He didn’t know what more he could do for Matt in this state. Just wait it out? Get Adam? But what more could he do that Omar couldn’t?

And that seemed to spur on a whole new train of thought. What happened to Matt when he got sick? What part of him needed to be treated? Would they need to take him to the vet or an actual doctor? They’d never had this discussion before. As far as Omar knew, Matt didn’t get sick often. He exercised regularly, he ate well, and while part of it was due to the wolf in him needing to stay active, that’s just how he was. What did they need to do when he was sick?

Bender was still as agitated, still pacing and whining, licking at Matt, looking at Omar with large baleful eyes. With the concerning behaviour that both of them were showing, Omar texted Adam, saying that it was not really an emergency but he should stop in regardless.

Adam stepped in with a walk of someone who had too many shots and regretted starting as early as he did. His hair was mussed, eyes red, and he was dressed up in his hoodie. “What’s up?”

“Matt’s not feeling well, and I’m just, I don’t know how to put it.”

Adam frowned, sank down on his knees a bit too hard to the floor and grabbed Matt’s head between his hands. “Did he eat something or?”

“Well, he’s not dehydrated. This place is absolutely dog-proof, and Matt’s not stupid enough to eat something he shouldn’t.”

Adam went quiet, looked at Matt, stroked him firmly, and tried to get some sort of response out of him. “Hey, buddy. You not feeling well?” 

Matt did nothing, and it was starting to become concerning that he was like this. 

“Does he have someone we could call?” Omar asked, because that was the last resort. Call someone if his behaviour worsened. 

But Adam shook his head. “Not that I know of. Maybe we should--”

Then Matt moved suddenly. He got up, jumped off the couch rather unsteadily, and stepped away from all of them. He yelped and fell to side, and both Omar and Adam wanted to jump forward to get him, but there was the sense that they shouldn’t touch him. Not when he’s like this. 

It was like something was moving underneath, like he was going to change. And he did. It was a slightly horrifying process to see his body change before them. See his legs change shape, practically break and re-knit themselves into something human. Watch the fur disappear into skin. 

“Get--get his blanket,” Adam said, waving at Omar to move as he went to Matt’s side.

The transformation was sudden and unexpected, and for as long as Adam had known him, he’d never changed back when the moon was still up. Was that not a werewolf rule? Moon’s out, wolf’s out?

Omar settled the blanket over top of Matt, and they both helped him to sit up, leaning against Adam for support. He tried to speak, but then lurched suddenly, Omar scrambling to get a waste bin so Matt could throw up. Adam spoke to him softly, rubbed his back. Omar stood to get water from the fridge. 

Matt was shaking, looking incredibly pale. Adam looked up to Omar. “He needs to go home. I don’t . . . I don’t know what I can do.”

Omar nodded. He could do that. Bring Matt back to his apartment and see him off to bed. He’d never seen Adam so defeated before, and the only thing Omar could do was make sure Matt got home okay. 

They got him dressed up a bit, helped him to the passenger’s seat in Omar’s car, Bender in the back seat, trying to check in on Matt. “I’ll get him home,” he said to Adam. “Why don’t you get a drink and take a few minutes before going back on camera, okay?”

Adam nodded, feeling a bit useless because this was so uncommon for Matt. He shouldn’t have changed.

But he did, and now they need to help him. 

Omar left, went off to Matt’s shared apartment and helped him get inside. He collapsed on the bed near instantly, Omar setting a glass of water near the bed for him later. 

“Need anything?” he asked softly, didn’t know if he should be looking for some ibuprofen or something more. Did basic off the shelf medication affect Matt the same way, or did he need something else? Omar then realized how little they knew about Matt. Despite how long they’d all known him, despite working right beside him for many hours each day, each week, they didn’t know much about Matt or about werewolves in general. 

And maybe that was their mistake. 

“Don’t know,” Matt said. “Jus’ want to sleep.”

“Okay. You mind if I bring Bender up? I’ll stay a little while in case you need me?”

Matt nodded minutely but said nothing, looking too sick and too tired to do so.

Omar remained in the apartment for a few hours until Bruce came in, looking worn out but as soon as he saw Omar, he knew that he’d been told about the situation.

“Where is he?” he asked.

“Sleeping, I think. I checked in on him an hour ago, and he hasn’t moved, so.”

Bruce nodded. “Well, I’m here for the next--” he sighs “-- many hours. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Yeah, I should get going,” Omar said, standing with Bender following. 

Before he left, Bruce caught him at the door. “Is there . . . is there anything I can do for him?”

Omar shook his head. “To be honest? I don’t think there’s anything we  _ can  _ do for him. It’s hard to know what might be good or bad for him.” 

Bruce nodded, rubbed the back of his neck and braced himself on the edge of the counter. “Well thanks for keeping an eye on him.”

“It’s not problem, really. Just making sure he’s okay and safe.”

“Still, thanks for staying here for him.”

Omar then left. And when he got home, he pulled out his laptop and typed into the search bar ‘werewolves.’ Because he felt like they were missing out on something here. And because of that, Matt would likely suffer for it.


	5. that one time in the woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one chapter left to go!

It was like a slow progression, Matt’s decline. When they thought they understood his nature, he’d start shifting during days and nights when the moon was hardly out. It was like his entire body was out of sync, and he was struggling to figure out how to get it all back.

Bruce had a serious sit down with all of them after work because if Matt was going to continue working here and still shifted beyond the full moon, then everyone needed to be on the same page. And Matt needed to know that they were all here for him. They would support him whatever he was going through.

They kept it a relaxed night. Went out for dinner and drinks after work, kept it casual, something easy for Matt who was becoming increasingly unsettled by crowded areas, loud noises, and being taken by surprise. 

When they were settled in Bruce and Matt’s shared apartment, for Matt’s sake, they got to know a bit more about Matt’s condition.

“I was bit when I was thirteen,” he said. “On my leg. You wouldn’t be able to see it.” He had his hand on his thigh. “And there’s not . . . not much out there on werewolves. It’s like--like the whole country knows about it, but doesn’t want to take any action towards it, you know?”

“What did you do?” Adam asked, because he never knew this before. Matt never told him.

“Well, my parents took me to the hospital when they found me. Got me stitched up, vaccinated for rabies, and the next full moon, I blacked out, woke up in the living room with my parents in a panic. And they tried, they tried looking for people who knew what I was going through, but it was hard. It wasn’t like I was sick all the time. Doctors didn’t know what to do with me, and it’s not like there’s a group for like, werewolves anonymous. So they did what they could. They let me run around on those nights, and they made it work. Then came college, and I became friends with Adam and that’s it really.”

“So you don’t know anyone else?” James asked. “Anyone like you?”

He shook his head.

“Well, I find that pretty hard to believe,” Bruce said. “You can’t be the only one.”

“It’s true. Haven’t met anyone, haven’t talked to anyone.”

“You haven’t, like, stalked around on some forum? Or some Reddit thread for an answer?” Lawrence asked.

“And try and wade through all the furry stuff?”

“Fair point.”

Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. I just . . . I kind of gave up when you guys knew. Back at the old offices and Machinima. I didn’t need to look for anyone. Not when you guys were around.”

It explained a little but not everything. Not what they needed to know.

“Well, I’ve been looking up some things,” Omar said. “And I’m not sure how helpful it would be, but it’s a start.”

He then would tell them all about the cycles of the moon. What each month’s moon meant and the changes Matt was likely to go through. And it started to show a pattern, a behaviour that was similar to Matt’s experience. Months where the transformation was easier. Months where the transformation was harder. It made a bit of sense and gave Matt something to look into.

“I don’t know what your partial transformations mean,” he said. 

“It’s a start, though,” James said. “Something we can look into further. Even if we can’t tell if it’s real or not, it’s a start.” 

_ It’s a start. _

* * *

It was hard to convince Matt to take days off when he was slightly under the weather. They rotated their schedule, made it easier for him to take time off. But his work ethic kept him in the office more often than not despite the troubles he was facing.

James noticed something was off when Matt came in bundled up a bit more than usual. True, it could be cold in the office sometimes, especially if your desk happened to be right under an air vent. It was common for Matt to be wearing sweaters and hoodies and beanies. Something was always by his desk to warm him up a bit more. 

He wore a beanie for a few days in a row. James thought nothing of it at first, until he noticed Matt’s earbuds. Matt wasn’t wearing his headphones. So James went to check up on him because headphones were the way to go when checking in on the quality of sound for the videos. “Your headphones broken there?” he asked, pointing to where they were gathered next to the monitor stand.

“Oh,” Matt said. “No, just, uh, it’s nothing.”

“No, seriously,” James said. “What’s up?”

Matt sighed, pulled his earbuds out and set them on the desk. “Can we talk about this? Outside?”

“Yeah,” James said. “Sure.”

He followed Matt out to an empty office room where they could close the door and speak in private. 

“So, I didn’t know how to tell anyone,” he said, pulling off his beanie and showing James what he’d been hiding for the past few days.

He had wolf ears, twitching and moving to all the sounds in the room, betraying Matt’s emotional state. 

“When did this happen?” James said. He couldn’t keep the joy out of his words if he tried.

Matt looked surprised at his reaction. “Just a few days ago. And they won’t go away, so.” He shrugged.

“Can I touch them?”

“Wha--why?”

James shrugged. “They look cute.”

When Matt gave him the go ahead, he stretched his hand eagerly forward and stroked at the fur on the back of his ears, tracing the edges of it, watching how Matt’s reacting to him. “Is hearing, like, different than with people ears?”

“I don’t know. It’s just whatever until I turn back I guess.” 

James retracted his hand. “Has anything else of you changed, though?”

Matt blushed a little. “No.”

“Well, you know you don’t have to hide that from us. We’re not going to care.”

“I know, but it’s different, isn’t it? Makes it harder to hide.”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Want to hide it? Just go about living your life knowing that each month you’ll have to change and that you’ll need to organize your life around those days? Do you want to hide the wolf part of you?” He was interested in how Matt saw himself. If this was something he just lived with rather than accepted it and embraced it. Maybe that was the block he had to work around. He had to accept the wolf part of himself to control the transformations better.

“Well, what else is there for me to do? It’s not like there’s some country lodge I can go to because they host some sort of werewolf retreat.”

James was then hit by a sudden idea, and Matt could tell and was already regretting it.

“Keep your calendar open,” James said, handing Matt his beanie. 

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because I think I have something that can help you out.”

* * *

James put a plan into motion. He started coordinating, looking for cabin retreats a large group could book for a weekend travel trip. Four days in the woods. It would be perfect. Plus he’d managed to get Joel on board to join them. It was easier for him to get away for four days than it was Spoole, considering he lived out of state, but he felt a good ol’ Inside Gaming reunion was needed for this.

Matt knew nothing about it, only the dates and to block off his calendar for an extended weekend trip. “You really not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“No. That would ruin the surprise.”

He’d sigh before turning back to his desk. “Okay.”

By the time they were scheduled to leave, Matt had transformed back to his regular human self. But that didn’t mean he felt any better. He still felt out of the loop in terms of how his body was changing, how he felt the need to run no matter what, felt trapped in every sense of the word. A trip would do him good, James thought. He just hoped it went over well.  

They set out. Two cars packed with their gear, heading off into the deep country. Forests, rolling hills and mountain lines. It was a complete getaway with limited access to the outside world, but all in the comfort of a modern cabin where the six of them could just spend time together. Have a bit of fun. Get away from all their day-to-day stresses. Plus it was a good place to bring Matt where he wouldn’t have to stress about changing and having the public look in on his life. He could do what he wanted here. Give him a break about worrying. 

They got to the cabin early afternoon, set-up, claimed rooms, put away the food in the kitchenette for the next four days. James caught up with Matt who was standing on the porch, barefoot, wearing loose jeans and a loose sweater.

“Hey,” he said.

Matt turned, smiled to acknowledge him. 

‘What do you think?”

Matt shrugged. “It’s nice. It’s--” He breathed deeply. “--I feel good here. Like something’s settled in me.”

James nodded. “That’s all I really wanted.”

“I think I’m going to go take a walk around,” he said. “Clear my head a bit.”

“Want any company?”

He shook his head. “I won’t be long. Just a quick walk around.”

“Well, take your time. We’ll be here.”

Matt nodded and stepped off the porch, strolling gently down the dirt path further into the woods that surrounded them. 

Yeah, this should be good for him.

* * *

 

James specifically chose this weekend because Saturday was the day of the full moon. Here Matt could run around to his heart’s content and hopefully return to a sense of normality when they were scheduled to pack up and leave on Monday. 

Saturday was spent sleeping in, eating late, and just sitting around talking to each other. No shop talk, nothing business. It was all just on them, updates in their personal lives, passion projects they’d picked up, and reflections on where they were now in their lives. And it was good for Matt because a part of him wanted this. Wanted this sense of freedom that came with the forest, the space around them.

They didn’t make Matt’s condition a topic of conversation. They just let it be for now, let it exist in the background. And when the sun began to fall, Matt’s mood shifted a bit to that of apprehension and nerves. He was nervous, didn’t know if he’d change properly and what this would mean for them. 

“Take advantage of the scenery,” James told him some hours before the shift happened. “Run around. Do all that fun wolfy stuff before we go back.”

And Matt smiled at him a little, something more relaxed than when they got here. Maybe he was feeling better. “You won’t freak out if I just run off?”

“You do you, man. Just want to help you out.”

Come the change, Matt was gone. Nowhere to be found in the house, but they were drinking in the living room, music on, deck of cards out on the table. They were just having some fun. What could go wrong?

* * *

 

James was one of the first to get up that morning. The cabin was quiet as he padded to the kitchen, first pulling down a glass to drink down a quick glass of water. He started pulling out some of the food they had for breakfast, laying things out on the table for when the others came to join him one by one.

Adam was first to arrive, stretching his arms behind his back. “Mornin’,” he said, and James nodded at him. “What? Not a morning person?” he chided, and James took a half hearted swipe at him. 

“Can’t fucking sleep in anymore. It sucks.”

“Did you make the coffee yet?”

“Mm.”

“Joel’s not going to be happy if it’s not done yet,” he teased in a slight sing-song tone, and James was half tempted to chuck a bagel at his head.

Instead, he threw an orange. Adam ducked, and it thudded against the ground heavily. “Did you hear Matt come in at all?” he asked as he bent to pick up the orange

James shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Nah, didn’t hear anything. Haven’t checked in on his room though.”

“He’s probably just sleeping it off. He’ll come out.”

Bruce was the next to join him, and they were probably loud enough to rouse both Lawrence and Joel. James served up Joel coffee as he pulled back his hair and sat at the table.

“God, you need to cut your hair.”

“You’re just jealous because I still have more hair than you.”

“Talk like that again and I’m spitting in your coffee.”

“Such a charmer in the morning.”

The five of them had assembled, but by noon James had taken notice that Matt had not yet joined them. He broke away from the main group to check in on Matt. Knocked on the door which was slightly open. “Hey, Peake, you up yet?”

He looked in. The bed was still made. Didn’t look like he’d slept in it. He took a step in. “Peake? You up?”

Nothing.

He wasn’t here. 

Maybe the bathroom then.

Door was open. He wasn’t around.

James went back to the others. “Any of you seen Peake yet?”

“No,” Bruce said. “Did he come in last night?”

They all looked at each other, and in the dawning silence, they realized they had no idea where Peake was.

James jumped into action. He pulled his shoes on and went outside of the cabin. Matt wasn’t on the porch. He wasn’t anywhere.

“Well, where could he be?” Adam said once they’d all dressed and gotten themselves together, the lethargy of the morning now vanished at the thought that Matt was out in the woods and they had no idea where he could be. If he was hurt, if he needed help, if he was lost.

“We’ll split up,” Bruce suggested. “We get enough signal out here. We should be fine.”

James and Adam went off together. The other three grouped together and carried on. 

Needless to say, they were woefully underprepared for carrying out a search like this. They weren’t meant to be traipsing around in a forest, but here they were, periodically calling out after Matt and getting no response.

“What if we don’t find him?” Adam asked.

“Then we go to the police,” James said. “Simple as that.”

“Yeah, but . . . it’s not that easy, is it?” He let the meaning of those words sink in before continuing. “When we were in college, I’d bring Matt out to a shitty motel so he could run around when he changed. One time I got so busy with work and school that I completely forgot and I had to go running after him in the dark for a few hours.”

“You find him?”

He nodded. “It was the first time he changed back with the moon still being out.”

“What do you think went wrong this time?”

“Don’t know. I think there’s a lot that Matt doesn’t know about himself.”

Off to James’s left was a rustle in the brush. They stopped in their tracks. Something was close by.

“Peake? You out there?”

They waited, waited and listened, and up ahead on the path stepped a wolf. It was Matt, it had to be. There weren’t wolves naturally in this part of the country. The wolf regarded them carefully, sniffing curiously in their direction, body language lax and open as James stepped forward first, slowly, and Adam then following him. 

“Scared us there, Peake,” James said. “Didn’t know where you were. Why don’t you come back to the cabin with us? Go back home, yeah?”

Matt wasn’t reacting to them as James thought he might. He wasn’t the playful pup as they knew him as. He was acting more like a dog. Not as keen, a lot more wary of who was around him. 

As James approached, he dropped to a crouch, didn’t want to spook him. “Come here, Peake. We can go back to the cabin. Everyone’s pretty worried about you.” He crept closer, and when he was within arm’s length of the wolf, he stretched out his hand. “Time to go, Matt.”

Matt stretched out his neck and bumped his nose against James’s fingers gently. He took one step forward, and just when James thought they had him, a chilling howl pierced the air.

Matt turned to look, a short whine caught in his throat. 

Then it was like a chorus began. All of these unearthly howls.

“James,” Adam said. “We need to go.”

“Yeah. With you there, buddy. Come on, Peake, back to the cabin.” Thankfully, Peake followed them back down the path. They walked at a hurried pace, unsure of what was around them. Adam called the others, explained as best he could with the spotty reception the current situation. Matt trotted them along after them, faithfully, James always looking over his shoulder to make sure he was following them.

They weren’t that far from the cabin when a wolf crossed their path. It was much larger than Matt. And much angrier. 

They stopped in their tracks when the wolf growled, hackles raised, near frothing at the mouth. It had to be another werewolf. It was the only explanation and maybe that was part of the reason why Matt hadn’t transformed back yet.

The wolf growled and barked, inching closer towards them. And James saw it tensing, saw it readying itself to leap forward, but he realized this all just a moment too late. The wolf pounced and James was caught in the crosshairs. 

He brought his hands up, landed solidly on his back when the two-hundred pound wolf landed on his chest. He dug his fingers into the fur and skin around the wolf’s head and neck and held on, grappled as the near rabid werewolf tried to bite him, dug its claws into his shoulders and chest. He hardly felt a thing from the adrenaline.

The wolf was abruptly shoved off his chest when Matt joined the fight, landing a solid bite into the thick skin around the wolf’s neck. The wolf yelped and shifted its focus onto Matt instead.

James felt himself being pulled back a few feet as the werewolves went at it. Adam brought him up to sit, and James felt the cuts sting and throb. All they could do was watch the werewolves tear into each other, biting, clawing, scratching. But Matt was a size disadvantage, and he gave cry to a heart wrenching yelp. 

A gunshot went off, startling both wolves. The larger fled the scene. Matt fell to his side, panting and whining heavily. 

Adam turned to look to see a park ranger there. A stocky woman holding a shotgun. She approached them, and said, “Don’t move.” She stepped past them and walked up to Matt.

“He’s, he’s our friend,” James said. Adam helped him to stand. “Don’t hurt him. We didn’t--”

The woman turned to look at them. “Your friend? Did you know he was a werewolf?”

They both nodded.

She spoke into the radio transmitter on her shoulder and called in the scene. Matt was breathing shallowly and was bleeding from the bites he’d sustained. 

“Where you boys staying?” the ranger asked. 

“Cabin just up the bend,” Adam said. “Some of our friends will probably be up there.”

“You guys know much about the wolves?” she asked, crouching down to take a closer look at Matt.

“We’ve known about him for years,” James said. “Never met any other wolves, though.”

“It’s a secluded community,” she said. “But they like these forests on the long nights. You didn’t know when you came up did you?”

“Just thought it’d be nice for him to get out of the city for once.”

She nodded. “As do most people. But the October full moon makes them a bit erratic. More aggressive than usual. But you wouldn’t be here if you knew that.”

They felt out of their depth here, like there was nothing they could do until the ranger’s partner arrived in a pick-up truck. They helped where they could, but the rangers seemed experienced in this matter. They shifted Matt carefully onto a larger blanket and lifted him into the back fo the truck. 

“We’ll give you guys a ride to the station. We’ll take care of your friend and get this matter cleared up. This ain’t our first rodeo.”

They were helped into the back of the truck with Matt and taken to the ranger’s station, feeling entirely out of depth and out of place.


	6. that one time with Bruce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce sets out to make things right.

They were faced with a steep learning curve. What had started out as a simple trip to the country and a cabin turned into a near nightmare situation. James had been scratched up--thankfully, not bitten. Matt was injured, but as they came to learn, werewolves were resilient. They were quick to heal. After he recovered and been given some time by himself, he shifted back into his regular self. 

They’d all been gathered together then by the park rangers and given a discussion on Matt’s kind. The things that could happen. The dangers. It was enlightening for all of them because Matt had never met another werewolf and the others were finally understanding on how to take care of him if he couldn’t find a pack. It was a lot to take in. It wasn’t a large or supportive community, but at least there was something they could take away from this. 

In his other form, Matt was ingrained to look for his own kind. Needed that sense of pack, which was why, occasionally, he’d act unusual. Shift when he wasn’t supposed to. Feel sick and disjointed from himself no matter what form he was in. Whatever they were doing wasn’t good enough for him, but the rangers at the station had useful advice for them since part of their job came along with managing a few packs of werewolves near monthly. It wasn’t a well known community, not to the broader public, but these rangers were doing their best with what resources they had, which they passed along to Matt and the others for basic education.

Once cleared to leave, they packed up their belongings in the cabin and drove away. Went back to the city, sat in silence, said their goodbyes, and unpacked their gear.

Matt was quiet when he and Bruce entered their apartment. He hadn’t said a word since he transformed back, moved stiffly, and looked exhausted. Bruce took care of the luggage and told Matt to take a shower. He did so without any prompting and spent a good amount of time sequestered away. Bruce busied himself with setting the gear away and trying to feel like everything was normal. But it wasn’t. They had a portfolio of useful information the rangers gave them on werewolf care and maintenance. And it just seemed to make everything more real. Like they were measuring this all wrong. Doing it all wrong.

He picked it up and set it on the counter, started paging through it, reading a few sentences here and there.

_ ‘Werewolf diet.’ _

_ ‘Phases of the moon.’ _

_ ‘Out of phase shifting.’ _

_ ‘Pack dynamics.’ _

_ ‘Urban werewolves.’ _

It was a lot more than any of them knew about, and it was partially relieving and partially overwhelming. An entire new world of understanding Matt, helping him understand himself. 

Bruce distantly heard the bathroom door open, decided to give Matt some space for a little while. He wanted to read in further to this. Get a good start on it.

_ “. . . to ease the transition, eat high protein foods the night before. Your body will burn through a high amount of calories, so ensuring you've eaten well the night before makes it less likely your wolf will rage out.” _

_ “. . . the wolf is naturally curious and seeks enrichment. Don’t lock yourself away without something to keep you busy.” _

_ “. . . despite high density population, cities are less likely to have werewolves. They’re naturally drawn to rural areas, but if this isn’t for you, don’t worry. Close friends and family can act as the pack your wolf needs. Or you can go to the forest and find a pack for the full moons. . . .’ _

It was informative, but showed Bruce how little he actually knew. It felt like they were neglecting Matt without really meaning to, and it showed him just how much they needed to do for him.

He closed the folder and left the kitchen to check in on Matt. His bedroom door was open. “Peake?” He looked inside and saw that the room was empty. He wasn’t in the bathroom, so there was only one place left. 

He looked in his own room, and there was Matt, curled upon on his side, dressed in his loosest clothing and practically nuzzling into the bedspread on Bruce’s bed. “Peake?” he said softly. “You doing okay?”

Matt turned to look at him. “Sorry, I . . . got distracted.”

“It’s okay. Don’t get up--don’t get up.” Matt lay back down where he was, and Bruce moved to sit on the other side of the bed. He slid down so he could look at Matt, see how he was taking this all in.

“Feel better?”

Matt nodded, eyes closed as he rubbed the tip of his nose against the sheets. He breathed in deeply. “The papers the rangers gave us,” he said then, opening his eyes slowly. “I read them on the way home. It said . . . it said I  _ need  _ a pack. And there’s different ways a wolf can have a pack, and . . . I didn’t realize what I was looking for was supposed to come from you guys.”

“Mmhm.” Bruce continued to watch him, giving him the time to say what he needed to. He had an idea of where this conversation was going.

“I just haven’t been straight with myself or my feelings towards you I guess.” He sounded nervous, couldn’t look Bruce in the eyes. So Bruce chanced it and just set his hand over top of Matt’s. “I changed unexpectedly when it was just me and Adam. And . . . I didn’t take the time to talk to him about that. Like how I felt towards him. We just let it go unsaid, and I was fine with that. I didn’t want to push him onto something he wasn’t comfortable with. But I felt like I was left with this longing that I couldn’t control. And then Spoole left and Joel left, and it all just built up from there. Like I had you, I had all of you. Just--”

“Not in the way you needed.”

Matt nodded.

“Then what would you like?” he asked gently, didn’t want to push Matt further than he was willing to go.

Matt stretched his hand forward and then laid it gently on Bruce’s chest. “You,” he said. “All of you.”

And it would take some time to know everything Matt wanted and needed, but after working together for so many years, seeing Matt at his best and worst, living with him for so long. Bruce moved closer towards him, and Matt watched him closely, craned towards him for the attention. When he’d moved close enough, Matt pressed his nose right into Bruce’s neck and exhaled against his skin. 

“Thank you.”

“Whatever you need.”

* * *

 

It took some time to get Matt to admit that he loved them. That he loved his co-workers equally and saw them as something more due to his nature. But they were all open and accepting to letting him talk and explain himself, and hell, maybe they all needed this conversation. They’d been dancing around the issue for so long that they hadn’t realized what they all really meant to each other. 

And so they found a balance. They explored their new feelings for each other, and in the midst of it all, Matt finally felt like he was coming to peace with himself. Like all the pieces were clicking together neatly. 

He didn’t feel the need to run off when the time came. He didn’t feel like he would shift or transform outside of the full moon. He didn’t need to hide that part of himself from his co-workers because it felt like no one was just seeing him as Matt Peake who happened to be a werewolf. He was Matt Peake, a werewolf. It was an accepted part of him. 

Transformations and full moons were easier to manage. Which Bruce happened to handle more often than not, and sometimes Matt would get into moods.

Really excitable, puppy-like moods.

It was two in the morning when Bruce awoke to the sound of nails on the hardwood flooring in the hallway. It sounded like Peake was running up and down the length of it, making sounds of excitement as he slid around. But they had  _ neighbours  _ and Bruce had  _ work  _ so he got up out of bed and went to grab a shirt from Matt’s room to chase after the wolf.

He was in the living room, laying on his front, ears perked up, tongue lolling. His toys, to keep him occupied, were scattered around the room. Bruce tossed the clothes at him. “Go to bed, Peake.”

Matt, unhelpfully, shoved his nose under the clothes and jerked up, tossing the shirt onto his back. And with a look it was like he was saying ‘see? I’m wearing it!’

Which did nothing to settle Bruce. “I can’t . . . I’m not dealing with this right now.” He turned back to his bedroom and heard Matt clip after him. He got back onto his bed, and Matt immediately jumped on after him, snuffling up closer and closer to Bruce, so he could lick at him gently. Bruce sighed. “Why do I always have to deal with you when you’re like this?”

Matt had no answers for him but set his head down on Bruce’s chest and sighed.

“Just go to sleep,” Bruce said, laying one hand on Matt’s back, and that seemed to settle him. 

For once, it was all enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the end of werewolf peake. thanks for reading along and if you want to find me, visit me on tumblr @staranon95

**Author's Note:**

> find me @staranon95 on tumblr


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